Liquid Communication in Mobile Devices

Mobile communication and devices have raised a series of challenges concerning the delimitation of public and private, intimate and personal spheres. Specifically, and because of its close connection to the nervous system and emotions, these devices allow a wide variety of affordances while, and in accordance to the broad scope of previous dimensions, a series of worrying risks – because of the same relationship and interdependence between users' rational and sensorial sides. Thus, an international state of the art review will be discussed and the results and conclusions of the ‘Public and Private in Mobile Communications' European FEDER will be offered. A range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies were applied: surveys about general use and habits, personal data and images; focus groups; interviews in person and by telephone; content analysis with a special focus on social media and an observation ethnography and digital ethnography.

Impacts on Society

This chapter discusses the implications of giving and receiving social support in virtual communities and online groups. The chapter first offers a literature review about social support in general, and then delves into specific details about online social support. More specifically, this chapter focuses on informational and socio-emotional support, especially as they pertain to online groups and virtual communities. Three specific examples of online groups and virtual communities studied by the authors are offered, along with research findings and hypotheses. Finally, best practices are outlined for those who are interested in starting and maintaining an online group with the purpose of offering informational and/or socio-emotional support to potential users.

Virtual Teams

As the use of virtual teams becomes increasingly more common in all types of organizations, those involved must have the knowledge to operate efficiently and collaboratively and communicate effectively, particularly the virtual team leaders. Virtual teams will not succeed without strong leadership. Many traditional leadership principles apply to virtual teams, but virtual team leaders have additional challenges. This chapter examines the role of virtual team leaders and determines what characteristics and behaviors are exemplified by those leaders, using an instrument developed by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) identifies five practices and behaviors of successful leaders. Additionally, embedded in the “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” model are behaviors that serve as the basis for learning to lead, called “The Ten Commitments of Leadership.”

The World is your Office

Despite the increasing adoption of global virtual teams in industry, and their implications for traditional management practices, creativity within this context has been under-researched, with most studies focusing on students partaking in contrived virtual team projects in educational environments. This chapter focuses on a global virtual organization, Omega (a pseudonym), with the aim of exploring creativity in an organizational virtual team context. Using a qualitative case study approach in a single organization, the study makes the following contributions: (a) it identifies the personal values that motivate creativity; and (b) it explains how individuals, technology, task and organization influence creativity, drawing on the participants' perceptions. Discussed also in the chapter are implications for practice and future research.

Perception of Communication in Virtual Learning Environments

Perception research helps to understand how stimuli (gist) interacts with learners' sensory systems (visual, auditory, tactile). Communication in virtual learning environments is significant because when the laws of perception are manifested, the strategy should include discovering how the relationships between the instructional design process (analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate) synthesizes learning theories and learners' experience to create effective communication in virtual instructional events, learning objectives and goals.

Virtual Ties, Perceptible Reciprocity, and Real-Life Gratifications in Online Community Networks

QQ has been a leading force of China's social media revolution both in terms of its user reach and its socio-cultural impact. This chapter offers an analysis of QQ groups based on semi-structured in-depth interviews of 33 users with a particular emphasis on participants' rationales, motivations, and communicative behaviors as displayed in different types of groups. This is accomplished through interrogating a multiple set of individual, collective, social, and contextual factors that shape group dynamics and individual participation. It also discusses the implications of the findings for the scholarship on online communities in general, and the understanding of Chinese online groups in particular.

Analysis of Initial Involvement of Librarians in the Online Virtual World of Second Life

This descriptive case study considers a tech-savvy and geographically distributed group of librarians and information professionals, led by an initiative of the Alliance Library System of Illinois, who gathered together to brainstorm and organize ways to provide online users with real library services. Through document analysis of written conversations in their online discussion group, the researcher has explored the development process of these librarians as they began to provide information services to users in the virtual online world of Second Life®.

Why We Would Rather Text than Talk

Whether they are checking out at the grocery store, watching a sporting event or eating out in a restaurant; people are texting. Text messaging has become very popular form of contact. Texting is increasingly a part of the overall communications strategy not only for teens but for everyone. Privacy is the number one reason for sending and receiving text messages. The ability to communicate anytime and anywhere but to do so with privacy makes texting attractive and popular. Although some research has been done on the impact of personality, identity and anonymity on texting messaging, very little definitive conclusions have been established either for usage or preferences. Some research indicates that introverts act more like extroverts and extroverts act more like introvert when they communicate using text messages. More research needs to be done to establish the influence of personality and identity on texting and texting on personality and identity.

Virtual Design Teams in Virtual Worlds

Design innovation increasingly requires cross-functional virtual teams and is becoming plural, collaborative and distributed. In order for global companies to compete they must be able to sync with the rapidly increasing pace of change and be able to tap the international talent that may, in the future, only connect via virtual worlds and virtual reality. It is important to recognise how design innovation and knowledge flow are regulated and how the virtual ecosystem can either inhibit or excite collaboration and the creation of new ideas, and the design of useful prototypes. This chapter presents a theoretical framework using three models, with examples, to explain and understand how virtual design teams can identify the regulation of knowledge flow and collaboration in the virtual world, Second Life.

Workforce Development in Behavioral Healthcare and the Increased Use of Technology

The authors present anecdotal and peer reviewed information relative to the increase in use of technology within behavioral healthcare. Emphasis is on education, training, professional community development, and networking aspects of the field. The use of email discussion lists, blogs, conferences, and online training management tools are discussed. The authors define the use of technology in workforce development, build out examples of use, explore different methods of digital discourse, and discuss the challenges of technology implementation in a clinical setting. The authors attempt to provide both sides of the debate as to whether the increased use of technology in workforce development within behavioral healthcare is working while addressing the overall expectation to reduce costs, provide positive outcomes, and increase the skills and knowledge of a diverse workforce. This chapter provides an overall picture of types of technology are offered and a general overview of the benefits and opportunities for improvement specific to the development of the healthcare workforce.